History of population and settlement

Brazil, with a population of 201,660,000, is the fifth largest country in the world. Between the first Portuguese settlement in the 16th century and the second World War, over four million people migrated to the country, a majority of them being Europeans. The “invasion” of the Portuguese, Spaniards, Dutch, English, and French began more than three hundred years ago. Numerous indigenous Indians were enslaved to work on the sugar can plantations. Portuguese colonialists began to quickly bring slaves from Africa to Brazil in the 16th century. After the import of slaves was banned in 1850, European immigrants were now to take over the work of the slaves. The “big migration” to Brazil began in the second half of the 19th century. During the first phase of mass immigration, European migrants were needed in the agricultural sector, for coffee cultivation in Southeast Brazil, and for then for industrialization. During the second phase of mass immigration, more than one million migrants originating from Spain, Italy, Russia and Germany came to Brazil to be employed in agriculture. During the third phase of mass immigration, the new immigrants originated from Japan. In 1964, the recruitment of foreign workers ended with the military coup. Internal migration now gained importance for the country’s economic development. During the 19th century, great coffee plantations brought riches into the region. These plantations developed in the Paraiba do Sul valley, which runs from eastern Sao Paulo to eastern Rio de Janeiro. By the 1860s, thousands of European immigrants were streaming into the region and two decades later their influx increased to some 40,000 per year. Rio Janeiro’s population passed 500,000 by the time the slaves were fully emancipated in 1888. European immigrants began to arrive and some worked as tenants on the coffee plantations that were slowly expanding across Sao Paulo and northern Parana states. When dealt with settlement patterns, frontier settlement and domestic migration have been features of Brazilian society since the prehistoric times. Brazil’s settlement began thousands of years ago with the arrival of gatherers and hunters. Skilled fishers and farmers engaged the best lands of the Amazon and Paraguay rivers and most of the coastal plains, which made up a majority of the region’s many native inhabitants. In relation to the previous activity “Guns, Germs and Steel”, there was a quote in question two that required some over-thinking. “….human wealth and success depends on interaction with the environment.” I can relate this to the 19th century, in which the great coffee plantations took a toll on Brazil. These plantations brought much wealth into the region and developed along the eastern side of the country. Thousands of immigrants came streaming into the region because of this. Interaction with the environment is very important when it comes to a country’s wealth and riches. The pattern supports the theories presented.

Brazil's Natural ResourcesThe economic condition of the whole country is fully dependent on these resources. They are expected to be maintained properly in order to increase the per capita income and gross domestic product of the country.

As stated earlier, Brazil's resources must be maintained properly in order to succeed and increase. This picture shows the increase of crude and presalt oil production, thousand barrels per day.